Demoralizing the Enemy: Harsh Realities From Sherman's March to the Sea
This writing prompt requires students to relate to Sherman's "scorched earth" warfare during his march through Georgia by writing about a time that their team crushed an opponent, or, when they were on a team that was crushed by an opponent.
 

Lesson:

1. Engage: Warm-Up Discussion (10 minutes)

Prompt: “Have you ever seen or been part of a game or competition where one side completely crushed the other? What happens to the spirit of the losing team when a game is out of reach?”

  • Ask students to share personal examples or ones from professional sports or movies.
  • Write keywords on the board: domination, surrender, confidence, morale, strategy, defeat.
  • Introduce the historical context: “During the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman believed that to win, the Union had to crush not just armies—but the Southern people’s will to keep fighting.”

2. Explain: Brief Overview of Sherman’s March (10–15 minutes)

Present or read a summary of Sherman’s March to the Sea. Key points to include:

  • Occurred November–December 1864
  • Led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
  • Scorched earth tactics—burning cities, destroying infrastructure, taking supplies
  • Destroyed Atlanta, Macon, and caused over $100 million in damage
  • Goal: break the will of the Southern people to fight

Optional: Show images of the destruction or a map of Sherman’s route through Georgia and the Carolinas.

3. Reflect: Writing Prompt (20–25 minutes)

Title: Crushing the Opponent: My Experience With Total Victory or Defeat

Prompt: In 1864, General Sherman led a brutal march through Georgia and South Carolina to break the South’s will to fight. Have you ever played in a game or competition where your team completely dominated—or were you on the team that got crushed? What happened? How did it feel? Why did the outcome happen?

If you can’t think of a personal story, write about a team, game, or character from sports, books, or movies where one side crushed the other.

Encourage students to:

  • Use descriptive language and sensory detail
  • Reflect on the emotions involved
  • Connect their story to the idea of psychological impact

Optional sentence starters:

  • "We knew we had the game won from the first minute..."
  • "Every play we ran seemed to work—our confidence just kept growing..."
  • "It felt like we couldn’t do anything right, and they didn’t let up..."
  • "Like Sherman’s army, our goal was to break their spirit…”

4. Assessment

  • Participation in the discussion
  • Completion and effort in the writing activity
  • Connection between historical context and personal or creative reflection
Reading Groups - This passage serves as an excellent tool for enrichment-based reading groups in language arts or social studies.
Morning Work - The activity takes most students about 20 minutes to complete, making it an ideal solution for morning work.
Homework - This activity is a great way to assign homework in social studies or language arts.
Whiteboard - Have students come to the whiteboard to annotate important information or to write the correct text structures next to each paragraph.